Benjamin Ashford|Missing Florida mom found dead in estranged husband's storage unit, authorities say

A woman was found dead over the weekend inside a Florida storage unit registered to her estranged husband,Benjamin Ashford who is the primary suspect in her murder, authorities said.

Shakeira Rucker, a mother first reported missing about one week prior to her body being found on Saturday, died from an apparent gunshot wound, Orange County Sheriff John Mina announced during a Sunday news conference. The sheriff's office had been assisting the Winter Springs Police Department in a search for Rucker that spanned multiple Florida counties after her disappearance earlier this month. She was last seen on Nov. 11, when security footage showed Rucker with Cory Hill, the estranged husband, CBS affiliate WKMG-TV reported. Hill was named a person of interest in her case on Tuesday.

By Sunday, he was detained in the Orange County jail and being held without bond, Mina said. Hill faces four counts of attempted homicide for shooting at his girlfriend and family in an other incident on Nov. 12. 

"Shakeira's estranged husband, Cory Hill, is the prime suspect in her disappearance and obviously now in this murder," Mina told reporters. "We have plenty of time to continue collecting evidence and attesting to build our case to charge Cory Hill with Shakeira's murder."

UPDATE: Earlier today, OCSO deputies responded to the Self Storage at 2400 Wiggins Rd. in Apopka and found Shakeira...

Posted by Orange County Sheriff's Office, Florida on Saturday, November 18, 2023

"I'm saying, he is the suspect, we're not looking for anyone else," Mina said. "He will be charged with the murder, eventually, in this case."

On Saturday, authorities out of Orange County and Winter Springs were searching an area near the Bob White airfield in Mount Dora, about 30 miles from Orlando. Less than two hours after finishing the search around 3 p.m., the sheriff's office received a 911 call from a storage unit facility in Apopka, a nearby city, reporting "a smell emanating from one of the storage units," Mina said. Deputies then found a woman believed to be Rucker in the storage unit, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

"Shakeira's family was notified this evening," the Orange County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook Saturday in an update on the search for Rucker. "We grieve with them & our detectives are committed to bringing them justice in this case."

Rucker's family members and other loved ones held a vigil after the news conference on Sunday, WKMG-TV reported.

Clarence Thorton, Rucker's younger brother, told the news station, "My sister should've never been in that situation ... Not in a million years would I thought my sister would've ever been in that situation, so if you're going through anything like this please find help."

In:
• Florida
• Crime

Emily Mae Czachor

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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